Baby Led Weaning Does Not Increase Choking Risk When Modified for Safety

9/19/2016

Article Body

A new method
of introducing solid foods (complementary foods) is gaining popularity and
raising concerns that it may increase risk of choking for infants. Baby-led
weaning involves the practice of allowing children to feed themselves all of
their foods from the beginning of complementary food introduction – rather than
the traditional method of spoon-feeding pureed foods at the start of
complementary feeding. The study, “A Baby-Led Approach to Eating Solids and Risk of Choking,” appearing in the October 2016 issue of Pediatrics (published
online Sept. 19) aimed to determine if baby-led weaning, when modified to
address choking risks, led to an increased risk of choking or gagging. In
a trial setting involving 206 infants, the authors found that infants in the
modified baby-led weaning group experienced choking episodes no more often than
infants in the control group. However, children in both groups were offered
foods considered to be a choking hazard and often were not closely supervised
while eating. The authors assert that these results show that more caregiver
education is needed in general regarding choking risks and safe eating
environments related to the introduction of complementary foods for infants.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 66,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.